More than 1,500 acres have been purchased to protect coastal wildlife areas in Jackson County using money from the 2010 BP oil spill, officials announced Wednesday. But thousands more acres could be added in the future. Up to $6 million has been allocated for the acquisition of up to 8,000 acres and habitat management of 17,500 acres in the Grand Bay area.

“A key component of our overall restoration planning after the Deepwater Horizon oil spill has included the conservation of habitat for the benefit of the people who recreate there and the wildlife that live there,” Gov. Phil Bryant said in a press release. “I’m pleased we have been able to secure this area that will expand the lands that are already being conserved.”

This first purchase will add land to the Grand Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Grand Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve, and the Grand Bay Savanna Coastal Preserve.

But thousands more acres could be added in the future. Up to $6 million has been allocated for the acquisition of up to 8,000 acres and habitat management of 17,500 acres in the Grand Bay area.

Shell’s recent success in the US Gulf of Mexico includes its deepwater Dover discovery on Mississippi Canyon 612, reported last year, near its Appomattox platform. The well was drilled by the Deepwater Poseidon ultra-deepwater drillship. Sources: Shell, Transocean.

In lieu of the traditional shovel groundbreaking, Miami City Commission chair Ken Russell, Miami Mayor Francis Suarez and Miami city manager Emilio T. Gonzalez (pictured l-r) perform the ceremonial water toss to mark the start of the first Miami Forever Bond project tackling flooding and sea-level rise. (Photo by City of Miami Office of Communications)